Approaching another window of change, the blueprint for the the Habs is clear

March 1, 2025

Hockey fans have six more sleeps before the 2024-25 NHL trade deadline, but may not have to wait that long for business to pick up. It’s not uncommon for the dam to break on the weekend before the deadline as general managers try to get ahead of the rush.

This dynamic may be somewhat tempered by the pre-deadline deals that unfolded before the Four Nations tournament. Some big names, along with some pending free agents, were on the move. Nonetheless, it will be surprising if we don’t see some action before our Monday morning commute.

Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is expected to get in on the flurry of trades, and here are some possibilities to look for.

Hughes will sell some pending unrestricted free agents, but he won’t force a deal for the sake of it.

From his first deadline, Hughes has sent messages through the media. We don’t have to deal Lehkonen – he’s a useful player. Then it was we won’t deal Chiarot (or Edmundson or Savard) for less than he’s worth. This season the message is this – we have enough draft picks, so come with a serious offer.

Lehkonen and Chiarot were both dealt because Hughes got his price. The market for Edmundson and Savard was weak, so they stayed. The first two guys were pending free agents.

Hughes has a bevy of free agents to offer. Make no mistake – Jake Evans, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, David Savard, and yes, even Michael Pezzetta, are all available for the right price. Hughes might still be open to an extension for Evans, or bringing back Savard as the seventh defender, but not before he has explored the market.

My prediction is that three of the five pending UFAs will wear another jersey before this season ends.

I love the play we saw before the 4N, advanced by Arpon Basu and reportedly being explored by Hughes. Package two of those UFAs for a first round pick or its equivalent.

We’ve all heard how Minnesota needs Evans and Armia, and the Wild have some prospects and young players the Habs could use. I wonder if the Kings would be willing to give up on Brandt Clarke for a couple of our guys.

Or maybe it’s one of those guys plus a sweetener prospect or pick for a closer to ready young player, or to move up in the draft. Does Evans and an early second fetch you a late first?

Hughes has a target or two in mind that none of us are considering.

Remember Valentine’s Day 2022? The Tyler Toffoli trade to Calgary? Remember how pundits all wanted Jakub Pelletier included in any deal with Calgary? The deal was announced and Emil Heineman felt like the throw-in. But then we heard he was the piece that Hughes targeted in the deal.

Hughes might not care to trade Savard for a fifth round pick. But he may be comfortable moving him for a near-ready prospect none of us are considering but who has potential to help the Habs.

Let’s not judge any acquisitions too harshly until we hear the post-deadline presser. Is there any doubt that Heineman is a better fit for what the Habs need today than what Pelletier would have been?

Hughes may pull a play from his draft playbook and be a buyer.

There has been a confluence of events that may provoke Hughes to try a new approach at this trade deadline.

The first is obvious – the young Canadiens are more competitive and desperately want a deadline where they’re buying instead of selling. The second is related – the wild card race in the East is tight and the Habs sneaking into the playoffs is not completely out of the question. The third is another season-ending injury to Kirby Dach, and the growing sense he may not be their solution at 2C.

If a top-six centreman like Dylan Cozens is genuinely available now, why wait? The Habs have assets and Hughes has shown he is more than content to package futures to land a piece he believes can be part of the core moving forward.

This trade deadline has the potential to be future-defining for the Montreal Canadiens. Hughes has used each deadline to be an effective window of change. This window might be his biggest yet.